Chapter 28

There was a little ulterior motive in this. He exchanged a smile with his brother. This was the perfect chance to sound out their potential backer!

With Chi Yu's permission, Zhiguan lowered his head and began calculating on his fingers again.

After quite a while, Zhiguan began gesturing again-

The brothers were shaken. He really was prime backer material!

Suoluo translated, "You come from an extremely well-off family, but have little affinity with your parents. You've lived with your elders since childhood. You'll have countless friends and a smooth life. Your only hurdle lies in love-a romantic tribulation, an extremely serious one-"

There was also a way to avoid it: never set foot on Zizai Continent for as long as he lived.

Qiye did not translate that part. If their backer believed it and ran off, what would the brothers do?

He absolutely could not tell him.

Zhiguan shot him a dissatisfied look. Qiye pretended not to notice.

Only after they described a few more general details did Chi Yu believe them.

Feeling rather ashamed, he said, "Sorry! I'm actually a staunch materialist."

Zhiguan smiled shyly.

Qiye said, "In that case, there's no need to rush-right, why don't you come study at the Chan Sect too? Coming to Zizai Continent for further study is all the rage now, and you're just the right age."

Chi Yu felt he had heard those words somewhere before. Thinking back, he remembered that Ling Hezhou had said them.

Zizai Continent really was a wonderful place. Its spiritual energy was even denser than Wangxian Continent's, and it felt as though all the impurities in his spiritual platform had been brushed away. He felt utterly relaxed and happy.

Chi Yu was a little tempted.

But he was still worried about Ling Hezhou and his brother. As for Xie Xiyi-he was so tired, boohoo. There was no hurry to do the mission. He should improve his cultivation first.

Villain, you're done for! Your personal video editor has run away.jpg

Seeking confirmation, he asked Zhiguan, "Is my Soul Pearl really on me?"

Zhiguan nodded very solemnly. He would not miscalculate such a simple question.

"All right." Chi Yu relaxed and smiled. "Then I'll study here. But how does that work? Do I have to pay tuition?"

Suoluo said, "It's simple. You just have to go through the Mind-Certifying Terrace."

Chi Yu was a little skeptical. "That's all?"

Ling Hezhou had said that Zizai Continent was very hostile to outsiders now, and difficult to get into.

Suoluo said firmly, "That's all."

The brothers volunteered. "We'll take you."

Zhiguan came along too. Seeing how young he was, Chi Yu could not resist reaching out to pat his head, then took a handful of snacks out of his Sumeru Ring for him.

Zhiguan froze, then accepted the snacks. His lips parted, but he said nothing, merely bowing shyly in thanks.

The brothers took in the scene and spoke privately through divine sense. "A Sumeru Ring!!!"

"Our rich patron!"

"He's so loaded, aaaaah."

Sumeru Rings were not cheap. Most cultivators could only afford inexpensive, practical storage bags. A step above a Sumeru Ring was a portable cave abode, which was already beyond the reach of cultivators below the Soul Transformation stage.

Even that little crown prince did not seem to have a Sumeru Ring.

"We have to latch onto this backer!" Suoluo said.

"Absolutely!" Qiye stressed.

Their divine senses high-fived in the air, brimming with joy.

Halfway there, they ran into someone they knew.

Although Suoluo and Qiye disliked him, they knew how to be sociable and greeted him with smiles. "Junior Brother Xuanji, greetings."

The cultivator called Xuanji wore his hair tied up and had an exceptionally handsome face. He was like a mountain of jade, like moonlight on a cold river, with a godlike bearing. In particular, the brilliant golden eyes beneath his stern brows lent a touch of nobility to his plain attire.

He also carried himself with an elegance that clearly distinguished him from everyone around him. Hearing Suoluo and Qiye greet him, he replied politely, "Greetings, senior brothers."

His gaze swept over Chi Yu with faint indifference. Then he stepped past them and left.

A young attendant followed him. With only Qi Refining cultivation, he was already panting after climbing the mountain for a while, calling incessantly, "Your Highness, wait for me!"

Without so much as looking at them, he hurried after the cultivator and disappeared into the distance.

Suoluo curled his lip and whispered to Chi Yu, "He's from Eastern Mirror Continent. Supposedly the crown prince of some mortal dynasty. Look at him, bringing a servant along to study Chan. What a pampered noble."

Qiye said, "And I'm certain he doesn't remember our names!"

Chi Yu saw things differently, however. "Since he's a crown prince, he naturally carries himself like one. Once you've kept that up for so long, it must be hard to drop it. Besides, look, his servant dares to speak to him that way. That means he's usually very lenient and kind to his subordinates."

He sighed appreciatively. "He's a good person."

Suoluo: "..."

Qiye: "..."

They spoke privately. "This is bad. He seems to have quite a good impression of that little crown prince."

"They're geniuses. Naturally, they have things in common."

"But that little crown prince is still so annoying. What does he mean, 'Greetings, senior brothers'? We have names! I'm Qiye, you're Suoluo, and he hasn't called us by our names even once all this time! Outrageous!"

"Let's keep disliking him!"

"Exactly, let's keep disliking him!"

Setting that subject aside, they brought Chi Yu to the Mind-Certifying Terrace. A Chan master sat there yawning. When Chi Yu arrived, he gave him a jade token and told him to go inside on his own.

Chi Yu looked at Suoluo and Qiye. The brothers encouraged him. "Go on, don't worry. There's no danger."

Only then did Chi Yu take the jade token inside with peace of mind.

An hour later, he emerged from the Mind-Certifying Terrace and saw the peculiar expressions on the brothers' faces. "What's wrong?"

The Mind-Certifying Terrace was a large illusion realm with a randomized sequence, and those outside could see what kind of illusion the person inside had entered.

Chi Yu had been assigned the three sufferings and the eight sufferings-the most difficult illusion.

Chi Yu merely felt as though he had had a dream that was already growing hazy, but those outside had seen it clearly. He could embrace things and let them go, open and clear-hearted, with the heart of a child.

The Chan master gazed deeply at him and handed him a jade token. "Go to the Dao Di Chan Abode."

Suoluo exclaimed, "The Dao class!"

After a moment's thought, the Chan master handed him another token. "This is your dormitory."

Chi Yu accepted it and pressed his palms together. "Thank you, Master."

Suoluo and Qiye were both rather glum. The study abodes whose names began with Dao were where the chosen prodigies gathered, and the cultivation resources the Chan Sect provided them were excellent.

Of course, that was not the main issue. The main issue was that the little crown prince was in a Dao abode too! If they went to see their backer, they would most likely run into the little crown prince.

Chi Yu said, "Whatever the case, let's go to the dormitory first."

It all felt a little unreal. He asked Suoluo and Qiye, "I don't have to pay? No tuition or accommodation fees?"

The brothers understood and explained, "You don't have to pay spirit stones. The Chan Sect actually covers food, clothing, and lodging."

Chi Yu was surprised. "It's that generous?"

"Yes. Zizai Continent is actually extremely, extremely wealthy. You probably don't know how expensive a single Pippala Tree leaf from here is. At auction houses elsewhere, it can fetch the astronomical price of twelve top-grade spirit stones. Even then, there are none available, because Zizai Continent doesn't permit the buying and selling of Pippala Tree leaves at all."

Chi Yu had heard from Ling Hezhou that the Pippala Tree was the bodhi tree, but Pippala Trees also underwent advancement. Only at the final stage were they called prajna. Once they reached that level, they were sacred objects, which the Buddhist sects would enshrine in the Many-Treasures Pagoda.

The brothers then educated Chi Yu on the benefits of the Chan Sect. Only then did he learn that food, clothing, daily necessities, and lodging were all free, and the Chan Sect even distributed cultivation resources.

No wonder so many independent cultivators yearned for Zizai Continent. Being able to cultivate while getting free cultivation resources was already an extremely rare opportunity.

Having recently experienced Wangxian Continent's air tax, Chi Yu felt dazed at this sudden kindness, as though he were dreaming among the clouds.

He really had come to the right place!

He was sixteen now, so he no longer had to be afraid of cultivating. Reaching Golden Core in two years was still something of a pipe dream, ha.

Suoluo and Qiye cheerfully escorted Chi Yu to his dormitory. Before he could enter, someone pushed the door open and came out, and the two collided.

"Sorry!" Chi Yu hastily apologized. Looking up, he discovered it was someone he knew-the crown prince of a mortal dynasty he had just met on the mountain path. "Oh, it's you. We just met on the mountain path. Hello, senior brother."

Xuanji glanced at him and said flatly, "You're in the wrong place."

Chi Yu: "Huh?"

He took out his wooden token and checked the room number. "No, this is the right room. Look."

As he spoke, he thrust the wooden token in front of Xuanji.

Xuanji lowered his eyes to glance at it, his expression indifferent. "Five hundred middle-grade spirit stones. Move out."

Chi Yu: "?"

Daring to compete with Long Aotian at throwing money around? How bold!

Chi Yu cheerfully took out one top-grade spirit stone, lifted his chin, and said with a hint of smugness, "One top-grade spirit stone. You move out."

The corners of Xuanji's lips lifted slightly. His voice was clear and cool. "Xiaoqiu, take the spirit stone."

The young attendant beside him answered, "Yes!" He darted out from behind him and snatched the top-grade spirit stone from Chi Yu's hand, saying with a beaming smile, "Sure thing, I'll move out right now! Just a moment!"

Chi Yu: "..."

Chi Yu asked incredulously, "This is your dormitory?"

Xiaoqiu blinked and said innocently, "Yes, this is my dormitory."

Chi Yu clutched his chest. "Then-then what about him?"

Xiaoqiu said, "His Highness's dormitory is elsewhere. How could His Highness possibly live in a shabby room like this?"

Chi Yu: "..."

Waaah!

He had been tricked!

Aaaaaaaaah!

Author's note:

Little Puppy Fish: Aren't I Long Aotian? How did I get played, boohoo?

1: This will be the norm-come play me.